EFL trophy game tonight

[Mazza26]

Don’t care if we win it or not, but USE the competition for OUR needs.

Our need is to have our players as fit and as rested as possible for league games. There are far too many Tuesday night games without this exercise is getting EFL crowds used to watching PL youth teams play.

The league system should be set up so that Tuesday night games are only necessary for catching up on postponements and FA Cup replays.

Don't get me started on how the FA Cup 3rd round is arranged on a normal league weekend!

That is not what I am saying at all. Your gripe is about playing PL under 21 teams, I couldn’t care a monkey’s. I am saying use this competition for OUR needs, to give players game time, and coming back from suspension. Something RL would like, it is not all about training, players would rather play, then more training.

Don’t understand your Tuesday night apology, we need Tuesday nights also to get league games in.

Agree with you Martyn. It's actually not that difficult to get to Wembley, a stadium that will of course then attract the fairweather EFL trophy fans (I know a pompey fan who despises this trophy more than the most of you on this forum and he turned up to the final last year.) So on the one hand you've got an opportunity to WIN a cup trophy, something Argyle have never done and haven't even really come close to winning on the other hand it's great for OUR needs like you've said. Let's face it we always get knocked out of the league cup early doors so no extra games in that tournament, FA Cup exit in the 2nd round is likely, so what's this about playing too many games? Amazing. You earn 50k from playing a fixture (well you did a few seasons back, might be more now,) and whilst there probably aren't many football purists in the south-west is it really the end of the world to watch a premier league U23 team? Isn't that a tad exciting to see potential bright talent? Especially as no one was remotely a fan of the tournament before the new format. It's like a kid being bullied at school. That kid who is bullied then plays for his school football team, and that school team consists of the school bullies. The opposition players then pick on him during the match, and then the bullies from the same side actually stick up for him. Even though they hate him. Astonishing.

 

[Argylegames]

Don’t understand your Tuesday night apology, we need Tuesday nights also to get league games in.

My point is that the league should be structured so that Tuesday league games are unnecessary, except in the case of Saturday postponements.

There are 40 Saturdays during this season, plus 5 Bank Holidays. (Good Friday too close to a Saturday so discount it)

Reducing the lower leagues to 21 teams means 42 games and two dates allowed for the FA Cup.

We have already played 8 Tuesday matches and have another 3 scheduled, plus the Grimsby rearranged match. Far too many Tuesday matches with players not having enough time to properly recover - leading to injuries.

 

[Dan Ellard]

Sorry to repost this but in response to the above points it is worth noting what both Sunderland and Portsmouth did last season. Put a lot of effort into this competition, both reached the final, and both ended the season with a whimper losing in the playoffs having been in automatic promotion contention all year. If only their players were a bit fresher, say, if they'd played a few less games over the course of the season...

We need to prioritise the competitions that matter. The league, the FA Cup, and to an extent, the League Cup. This excuse for a tournament as a sly attempt by the EFL to integrate B teams into the league system should not even be considered. I'm delighted we're out. Now to concentrate on the competitions that matter.

 

[homepark_hobo]

Is the rule that slime ball Harvey brought in on lower league teams being fined for playing weakened teams still in force?

If so, that rule really makes it hard to use your fringe/youth players as you incur a financial penalty. Frankly this disgusts me more than the 21s being in the cup tbh.

It is a shame to be out but we really need to concentrate on the league.
Mind you an FA Cup run could be very profitable!

 

[Martyn]

Sorry to repost this but in response to the above points it is worth noting what both Sunderland and Portsmouth did last season. Put a lot of effort into this competition, both reached the final, and both ended the season with a whimper losing in the playoffs having been in automatic promotion contention all year. If only their players were a bit fresher, say, if they'd played a few less games over the course of the season...

We need to prioritise the competitions that matter. The league, the FA Cup, and to an extent, the League Cup. This excuse for a tournament as a sly attempt by the EFL to integrate B teams into the league system should not even be considered. I'm delighted we're out. Now to concentrate on the competitions that matter.

This is more or less what I am saying.

This competition should be 4th on our radar, and we should be NOT be restricted to play only certain players.

It should be used for our youth players, plus players coming back from injury/substitutions, or whoever the manager wants to play.

 

[Lundan Cabbie]

Sorry to repost this but in response to the above points it is worth noting what both Sunderland and Portsmouth did last season. Put a lot of effort into this competition, both reached the final, and both ended the season with a whimper losing in the playoffs having been in automatic promotion contention all year. If only their players were a bit fresher, say, if they'd played a few less games over the course of the season...

We need to prioritise the competitions that matter. The league, the FA Cup, and to an extent, the League Cup. This excuse for a tournament as a sly attempt by the EFL to integrate B teams into the league system should not even be considered. I'm delighted we're out. Now to concentrate on the competitions that matter.

Not somethimg that any Premier League club has EVER suggested. The EFL might think that this old FA idea might attract some PL cash but it's not something that top flight clubs are the slightest bit interested in.

 

[Keepitgreen]

Sorry to repost this but in response to the above points it is worth noting what both Sunderland and Portsmouth did last season. Put a lot of effort into this competition, both reached the final, and both ended the season with a whimper losing in the playoffs having been in automatic promotion contention all year. If only their players were a bit fresher, say, if they'd played a few less games over the course of the season...

We need to prioritise the competitions that matter. The league, the FA Cup, and to an extent, the League Cup. This excuse for a tournament as a sly attempt by the EFL to integrate B teams into the league system should not even be considered. I'm delighted we're out. Now to concentrate on the competitions that matter.

Not somethimg that any Premier League club has EVER suggested. The EFL might think that this old FA idea might attract some PL cash but it's not something that top flight clubs are the slightest bit interested in.

Your source Paul?

 

[Lundan Cabbie]

It was an idea once put forward by the then chairman of the Football Association, Greg Dyke. It was never anything to do with the Premier League and has never been raised at any PL get-together. I can't source something that has never happened.

Shaun Harvey as Chief Exevutive of the EFL was desperate to bring more PL money to EFL clubs and flirted with the idea but no PL club supported it. Pep Guardiola was keen because that's what they do in his home country but he is just one employee at one club.

EFL supporters created the myth that this was a serious plan and now fans believe it as being true. Just look at what Ian says above but there is no evidence other than the suspicion of EFL footy fans of "suits" who thay can't even put names to.

 

[davie nine]

I think you are probably right, LC.

 

[Dan Ellard]

Sorry to repost this but in response to the above points it is worth noting what both Sunderland and Portsmouth did last season. Put a lot of effort into this competition, both reached the final, and both ended the season with a whimper losing in the playoffs having been in automatic promotion contention all year. If only their players were a bit fresher, say, if they'd played a few less games over the course of the season...

We need to prioritise the competitions that matter. The league, the FA Cup, and to an extent, the League Cup. This excuse for a tournament as a sly attempt by the EFL to integrate B teams into the league system should not even be considered. I'm delighted we're out. Now to concentrate on the competitions that matter.

Not somethimg that any Premier League club has EVER suggested. The EFL might think that this old FA idea might attract some PL cash but it's not something that top flight clubs are the slightest bit interested in.

If you can't see this as an test by the EFL, well...

a) What else would they have done it for?
b) Why do they push the promotion of higher attendances in this format so much?

Head out of the sand, there's a good chap.

 

[Allanon]

Sorry to repost this but in response to the above points it is worth noting what both Sunderland and Portsmouth did last season. Put a lot of effort into this competition, both reached the final, and both ended the season with a whimper losing in the playoffs having been in automatic promotion contention all year. If only their players were a bit fresher, say, if they'd played a few less games over the course of the season...

We need to prioritise the competitions that matter. The league, the FA Cup, and to an extent, the League Cup. This excuse for a tournament as a sly attempt by the EFL to integrate B teams into the league system should not even be considered. I'm delighted we're out. Now to concentrate on the competitions that matter.

Not somethimg that any Premier League club has EVER suggested. The EFL might think that this old FA idea might attract some PL cash but it's not something that top flight clubs are the slightest bit interested in.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/20 ... -league-b/

 

[davie nine]

Sorry to repost this but in response to the above points it is worth noting what both Sunderland and Portsmouth did last season. Put a lot of effort into this competition, both reached the final, and both ended the season with a whimper losing in the playoffs having been in automatic promotion contention all year. If only their players were a bit fresher, say, if they'd played a few less games over the course of the season...

We need to prioritise the competitions that matter. The league, the FA Cup, and to an extent, the League Cup. This excuse for a tournament as a sly attempt by the EFL to integrate B teams into the league system should not even be considered. I'm delighted we're out. Now to concentrate on the competitions that matter.

Not somethimg that any Premier League club has EVER suggested. The EFL might think that this old FA idea might attract some PL cash but it's not something that top flight clubs are the slightest bit interested in.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/20 ... -league-b/

As Lundan Cabbie explained, there is no evident enthusiasm for this other than from Guardiola who seems to be a lone voice. The Telegraph article was 3 years ago.There is, obviously, very strong resistance from EFL clubs and their supporters and even if the idea was resurrected there is no chance that it would be agreed.
I don’t attend the EFL Trophy games but Argyle have used them to good effect and they enable players like Mike Cooper and Adam Randell to show their talents in comparison to Chelsea’s Academy players, for example.

 

[JannerinCardiff]

Interesting that we’ve made more prize money from the EFL trophy than the league cup even though we only won 1 match in both.

We’ve a genuine chance of winning the EFL trophy (we’ve never won a trophy in our history) and getting to Wembley I think we should try our best in this competition.

 

[SWTT]

Not while there's B teams in it. It's a mockery of our club. Rubber stamping our inferiority for the long term.

Say EFL clubs become dependent on the Prem's injection of cash to the Trophy (which I believe has increased, while solidarity payments were decreased? Can anyone clarify on that? So give with one hand, take with the other). Then in a couple of seasons time they go, hmm Pep and Klopp make a reasonable case for B teams. We would like to revisit the idea of them in the league structure, vote against and we'll withdrawn EFL Trophy payments, vote for and we'll increase. What then?

Okay, we're talking in hypotheticals, but it's not like they haven't got previous... EPPP anyone?

 

[Lundan Cabbie]

Not while there's B teams in it. It's a mockery of our club. Rubber stamping our inferiority for the long term.

Say EFL clubs become dependent on the Prem's injection of cash to the Trophy (which I believe has increased, while solidarity payments were decreased? Can anyone clarify on that? So give with one hand, take with the other). Then in a couple of seasons time they go, hmm Pep and Klopp make a reasonable case for B teams. We would like to revisit the idea of them in the league structure, vote against and we'll withdrawn EFL Trophy payments, vote for and we'll increase. What then?

Okay, we're talking in hypotheticals, but it's not like they haven't got previous... EPPP anyone?

Do you really think that Guardiola and Klopp have that much influence over 92 (sadly 91 right now) chairmen? They might not even be employed in this country by then.